Sunday, February 17, 2008

Storyboard ’08, an inaugural film festival kickstarted by *scape, aims to initiate a rippling movement in the Singapore film industry by engaging film appreciation and creation through various levels of film participation, arousing interest and greater support for local film creation.

Coming together as a concentrated movement that involves several levels of media professionals, Storyboard ’08 is birthed not only to lure interest in local film appreciation, push for improvement in local film creation but also to be a bridge for aspiring film makers to key industry veterans, rewarding both amateurs and professionals alike through professional exchange and mentorship.

One of the key objectives that the team hopes to meet is to rid the festival of the exclusive air about filmmaking and create the movement with the understanding that the whole of Singapore has to be involved at some level, starting with *scape’s Storyboard’08.

Through shed.Ink (script writing competition), Fables (short film competition), Through the Aperture (dialogue session with top local directors), Brief Tales (showcase of local films) and Canon HD Workshops (film making workshop), film making and appreciation is brought closer to the general mass and film enthusiasts, targeting not just at a tertiary/public level but to secondary schools to give early exposure a possible career choice in film directing and creation.

The support coming from media professionals is overwhelming for an integrated film festival rich in content creation and development, giving birth to Storyboard ‘08. Canon’s participation sees their involvement on a community level, providing film education to young upstarts, alongside support from MediAction!, the Media Development Authority’s (MDA) year-round public education initiative to encourage Singaporeans to better appreciate and use media for their work, learning and play.

Kenneth Tan, former Managing Director of Golden Village, is very supportive of the local film scene and fuelled by his passion for cinema, highly endorses such youth-initiated movements. *scape, priding itself as the platform for youth initiatives and springboard to showcase emerging talents, provides rich programming content and is the proud host of Storyboard’08.

Veteran and rising directors such as Jack Neo, Eric Khoo, Boo Junfeng and Seah Wee Thye sit on the panel of Through the Aperture to provide informative insight into the film industry. Collectives such as Sinema, Singaplural and the Singapore Film Society will be taking the opportunity to showcase local film works during Brief Tales.

As a finale, StoryNights integrates general Singaporeans into the local filmmaking scene by attaching local young filmmakers' works together with recognised commercial films, put together as three nights of outdoor movie screenings. Each Singaporean's participation will go towards the exposure of local youth works and general elevation oflocal film appreciation standards as audiences get exposed to more non-mainstream and arthouse-styled films.

The main festivity of Storyboard ‘08 takes place from 16th to 23rd February 2008 at *scape Youth Centre, Youth Park and Skate Park. Check out the schedule here.